February 8, 2021 at 8:43 a.m.
Hodag wrestlers conclude season at sectionals
Hodag wrestlers conclude season at sectionals
Tim Fox, Hugh Wiese and Tanner Schmidt all placed in their brackets in a WIAA D1 sectional at Wausau East High School, but none of the three placed high enough to move on to next weekend's WIAA state tournament.
Fox was the closest, winning his first-round match and placing fourth overall at 120 pounds. Schmidt and Wiese each won a consolation match to place sixth at 113 and 126, respectively. Only the top two finishers in each weight class advanced.
"It was a mini state tournament today," Hodag coach Paul Ellenbecker said. "It was impressive being there, seeing all the competitive teams that were there and the competition. It was pretty nuts. It was definitely a state feel ... There are a lot of good kids that aren't going to get an opportunity to wrestle at the state tournament."
The COVID-19 pandemic has limited the number of wrestlers who could advance to the WIAA state tournament, with only 50% of the usual Division 1 field advancing. Fox, a senior and state qualifier for the Hodags last year, was one of the wrestlers caught out by the numbers crunch.
Fox (16-2) started his day with a 4-1 win over Menomonie's Zach Evenson, but then lost via technical fall in the semifinals to eventual sectional champion Shane Corrigan of De Pere. From there, Fox needed to win three matches to finish second. He got the first one, knocking off Green Bay Preble's Trentin Phillips via technical fall, but was pinned in the third-place match by Holmen's Sam Smith.
"Taking fourth place in a bracket like he had is just crazy," Ellenbecker said. "He had five kids ranked, I believe, in the top 10. One of the kids didn't even make it to the sectional. You had to run the gauntlet. It was tough odds for Tim. You've got to have a good day and, looking back on it, he didn't put together his best matches of the year. Unfortunately, he couldn't get it done today. The competition he ran into, it's tough when you've got to be perfect on the day."
Wiese (13-7), another senior, was pinned by Holmen's Preston Kratochvill. Wiese won his opening match in the consolation round, beating Superior's Tucker Johnson 6-0, but lost by major decision to De Pere's Collin Hansen in the consolation semifinals and then was edged 10-7 by Wisconsin Rapids' Josh Black in the fifth-place match.
"Hugh had opportunities today, but he would have had to wrestle a perfect day and get some help along the way. It just wasn't meant to be," Ellenbecker said. "The improvement he showed this year was incredible. He showed flashes of being able to hang with some of the best kids in the state. To be able to put it together for six matches was too much to overcome. I'm proud of how Hugh fought and kept battling. At the end of the day, he didn't have enough experience to get it done ... I'm just glad Hugh got to experience a sectional tournament and wrestle some big-time matches."
Schmidt (6-7), a sophomore, was pinned by eventual sectional runner-up Damien Wudtke of Shawano to open the tournament, but got to wrestle on when he pinned Tomah's Jacob Van Hoof in the first round of the consolation bracket. Schmidt was pinned by Hudson's AJ Henn and Bay Port's Owen Noel after that to take sixth.
"He battled and he got to wrestle on a big stage," Ellenbecker said. "He got to wrestle a kid that made it to the state tournament in the first round. He got a pin with a chest crusher (in the second round). Winning a match at sectionals is a pretty big deal. We're excited for Tanner to get that experience. It will be nice for him coming back next year to have that under his belt."
Ellenbecker said the team will continue to practice through this weekend's WIAA state tournament but, from a competition standpoint, the meet brought to a close a season in which Rhinelander won only one dual - the Handrick Hammer match against Lakeland - placed fourth in conference, fourth in regionals and 17th in sectionals. The COVID-19 pandemic cut the number of individual matches that most athletes got to wrestle by half or more.
"You do the best you can and, looking back this year we weren't good enough to get it done," Ellenbecker said. "Hopefully they can get rid of this COVID thing and we can move forward as a program in the future."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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